When Calendars Attack...

Today begins what we've been referring to as "crazy week" around here. We've known that this week was coming, we've watcher it grow closer and closer consuming larger and larger portions of our horizon. It is now upon us.

I've bemoaned our plight to all who would listen (after all, I need something to yap about now that the kitchen is complete). Earlier in my parenting career (but not very much earlier), I would have taken great pride in all of this activity thinking that ...

busy = important

These days I consider busy a sign of poor planning at worst, or an unfortunate ordering of events at best. This nutso week is mostly a result of the latter with a hint of the former. The lineup for the week includes: 

• Theater camp for Meg and Kate (30 min away, daily)*
• The last week of regular season softball for Kate and Molly
• Softball tournament for Molly
• VBS for the entire family 
• Possible jury duty for Yours Truly 

I chose the week for jury duty my very own self way back in the winter when summer seemed like a dream. Oops! Otherwise, these events lined themselves up and squished themselves together in the week. The rest of our summer looks pretty vacant in comparison, happily!

Since we've known what's been awaiting us this week, we've done our best to be as prepared as possible. One of Kate's favorite parts of theater camp is one of the things that required the most preparation: the packing of the lunch. Kate's favorite part of life in general is packing and daily packing of lunch is simply walking on sunshine for her. Just in time for this week, we discovered a fun, healthy lunch option for our young actresses…

{From Better Homes and Gardens Special Make & Take issue, 

purchased recently at SAMs Club.}

Here's our take…

Ingredients from bottom to top: honey mustard dressing (use plenty), bow tie pasta, grape tomatoes, dried cranberries, feta cheese, pecans, strawberries, spinach, green leaf lettuce.

Also, we subbed out the jar for a ziplock container because jars are made of glass…enough said.

The theater gals loved their lunches reporting that the salads were good but next time…more dressing. Easy fix and how many different options can you imagine for this? Add chicken, ham, olives, croutons, sunflower seeds…endless combinations, happy eaters. It's all good. We fixed them the night before and Kate packed everything the next morning and we were set. 

Bring on Monday!

UPDATE:

Day 1 of crazy week is in the books. 

• Salad in a jar was a success.
• Meg and Kate landed fun roles in the camp production of Cinderella to be presented two times this Saturday (likely while Molly is playing softball!)

• I had time between theater and ball games to toss our favorite (of late) crock pot meal into…well, the crock pot, and there was dinner at the end of the day. 

• Molly's team finished the season undefeated.

• Kate's team enjoyed a nice win also…

• The VBS crowd enjoyed frozen yogurt bananas on a stick and weathered the heat with class and also with excessive perspiration. (No picture available…I was covering the softball beat, you are welcome =-)
• Finally, NO JURY DUTY for me! Whew! Yippee! Kazaam! 

Day 2 lies ahead…I'm off to load the crock pot (again) and wash some uniforms (again) and make sure lines for the play are being learned. 

Wishing you lovely days with full hearts and less full calendars!